(Image source: CNN)
BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered on Moscow’s Sakharov Prospect Saturday in one of Russia’s largest protests in decades. Euronews has more.
“A new rally against alleged electoral fraud in Russia has swamped the center of Moscow. At least 28,000 people took part, say police. It was nearer four times that figure, claim organizers.”
Saturday’s protest is a followup of the December 10 protests, where 50,000 people showed up to express anger over the parliamentary election earlier this month.
Reports of poll workers openly stuffing ballot boxes and changing votes have tainted the election’s results in the minds of many Russians. Protesters are demanding sweeping changes to the electoral system and liberalization of the political process in general. (Video source: Telegraph)
On Thursday, president Dmitri Medvedev announced some changes to the election process. But a CNN correspondent says it’s too little too late.
“Some of which answer some of the demands of these opposition protest groups, like making it easier to register a political party, making it easier and more simple to run as an electoral candidate. It goes some of the way, they say, but the reason they are still holding this protest here today is that they still want more. It’s not enough.”
The protests are the largest anti-government protests in Moscow since the fall of the Soviet Union. And if the parliamentary election can generate this kind of mistrust of Putin and Medvedev’s government, what will happen in the upcoming election, when Putin himself will be on the ballot?
“It’s discontent on a scale the Kremlin can’t ignore, and it looks like it could be just the start. In three months’ time, Russia will hold a leadership election where Putin is likely to return to the Kremlin as president. People fear the vote has already been determined. They’re ready to keep on challenging any signs of unfairness.”
Putin himself has belittled the protesters, comparing their signature white ribbons to limp condoms. That earned him sharp criticism from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who called it shameful. The Irish Times has more.
“Mr Gorbachev said he felt the spirit of ‘perestroika’ ... moving again in Russia after a period of political stagnation. He also urged Russians to link their protests to next March’s presidential election … by pledging to vote only for a candidate who agrees to annul the results of the general election and rerun it.”
The protests weren’t limited to Moscow. Thousands more demonstrated in cities across Russia. Press agencies reported very little conflict between protesters and police.
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